Computing and Information Services

Grade 6: - £26,715 – £32,817 per annum
Fixed Term - Full Time
Contract Duration: 24mths
Contracted Hours per Week: 35
Closing Date: 27-Apr-2021, 6:59:00 AM 

This vacancy closes at midnight on 26 April  2021

Job Family: Estates and Information Infrastructure Services

OUR CHARACTERISTICS: We are a globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, in a unique and historic setting.    

OUR VALUES: We are inspiring, challenging, innovative, responsible and enabling.

Durham University

Durham University is one of the world's top universities with strengths across the Arts and Humanities, Business, Sciences and Social Sciences. We are home to some of the most talented scholars and researchers from around the world who are tackling global issues and making a difference to people's lives. 

The University sits in a beautiful historic city where it shares ownership of a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Durham Cathedral, the greatest Romanesque building in Western Europe. A collegiate University, Durham recruits outstanding students from across the world and offers an unmatched wider student experience.

Durham University seeks to promote and maintain an inclusive and supportive environment for work and study that assists all members of our University community to reach their full potential. Diversity brings strength and we welcome applications from across the international, national and regional communities that we work with and serve.

It is expected that all staff within the University:

• Contribute to our learning culture by engaging in mentoring, training and coaching.
• Positively contribute to fostering a collegial environment; as well as demonstrating commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Have due regard to Health and Safety requirements appropriate to grade and role.

Family key attributes

Roles in this family manage and maintain the integrity of University buildings, estates and information services.

Overall family purpose

• Ensure safe, sustainable and fit for purpose buildings, internal and external environments in and on which to conduct University business.
• Liaise and engage with stakeholders across the University to identify and plan infrastructure projects to update and improve services and facilities.
• Align services to meet organisational strategic and operational objectives.
• Design new, adapt existing and implement services, working with external contractors and suppliers.
• Manage and monitor systems, mechanisms and processes to ensure compliance with internal and external regulations.
• Implement procedures to ensure safe and secure buildings, facilities, estates and information networks.
• Design and construct real and virtual test environments to ensure the most fit for purpose technology and services are available to underpin University business needs.
• Manage technology driven services and third-party platforms to underpin teaching, learning, research and administrative activities across the University.
• Engage with external suppliers, contractors, manufacturers and developers to ensure the highest-standards and quality of buildings, estates and information services.
• Work collaboratively and network across the University with staff in other families to ensure a smooth, timely and high-quality delivery of service.

Link to key strategic plan

• An economically sustainable approach to delivering infrastructure services across the University;
• Develop an academic estate that will allow the University to deliver world-class education, research and student experience;
• Ensure the long-term availability of suitable residential accommodation;
• Ensure the continuing renewal and maintenance of our estate;
• Improve the environmental sustainability and ease of travel around our estate and city locations;
• Support and facilitate a first-rate digital learning environment and experience on a par with the best in the UK;
• Running and ongoing development of a first-rate digital learning environment on a par with the best in the UK;
• A stakeholder-focused orientation, offering satisfying careers to all staff;
• Ensure that an increasingly diverse workforce is treated equally, fairly and with respect, and that all staff are demonstrably valued and actively engaged.

The Department and role purpose 

The Computing and Information Services (CIS) has an annual operational budget in the order of £10m, multi-million pound programmes of change within year, and approximately 140 staff who are predominately based at the Durham University campus. The Senior Leadership Team report directly to the Chief Information Officer with the following portfolios: Strategy and Change; Operations; and Information Systems. CIS provide academic, teaching and administrative services across the organisation that underpin the day-to-day activities of the whole organisation.

Recent infrastructure improvements include investment in a new network backbone, including new cable runs throughout the city to all of the Universities core buildings, new scalable user facing storage, and a new hosting environment. Corresponding business led investment also continues to be made with a new Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning suite, investment in research administration, and maximising the breadth of opportunities available to the University through Office365, alongside numerous other important initiatives. 

CIS is a friendly, but demanding department, where much is expected and can be achieved by competent, self-motivated individuals who are demonstrable in their team work ability.

The post holder will be responsible for the deployment, development and management and security of managed server services, including Microsoft and virtual platforms. They will look to maintain and automate existing processes using scripting languages to reduce the manual burden on other members of staff. They will be expected to monitor and react to issues generated by our automated monitoring solutions, as well as those coming from our incident, change and problem management solution.

Core responsibilities:

• Experienced service practitioner, involved in the planning and co-ordinating of all IT related activities, projects and work streams concerning Student Information systems with inter-related activities.
• Plan and organise own workload with or without involvement with project work streams.
• Provide specialist support for University staff and student IT users with problem solving and query handling.
• Provide a reactive and proactive service, working closely with other CISsupport teams and end users to deliver an excellent stakeholder experience.
• Relationship building, network participation internally and externally to build and update knowledge and skills.
• Engage with external peers and specialists to exchange knowledge and information.
• Supervises service users and stakeholders undertaking activities, events, project work and exhibitions.
• Interpret, curate, design and present artefacts, information, data, equipment and resources.
• Implement and monitor protocols, procedures, processes and regulations.
• Monitor and report incidents.
• Carry out more in-depth investigations, searches and research information and data to identify trends and patterns.
• Take responsibility for day to day decision making within own area of responsibility for operational aspects of service delivery, translating external requirements into practical application and advice.
• Implement and monitor recognised procedures to ensure compliance and meet University values of inclusion, diversity and participation.
• Contribute to business meetings, working groups and committees to help shape service delivery and stakeholder expectations.
• Accountable for managing/maintaining financial and budget records and reconciling consumable expenditure queries.
• Involved in the purchase and return of goods and services.
• Support the capture of business requirements from users and work with colleagues to translate these into recommendations for future service provision.

Role responsibilities:

• Work independently or with other staff,contractors or project teams across the University to identify and prioritise business needs and deliver infrastructure services, projects and system solutions.
• Liaise and network with contractors and third-party suppliers to facilitate the exchange of information, and help focus joint effort with projects and service delivery.
• Develop, test and implement BMIS systems, technical and virtual architecture solutions for the University.
• Liaise with key stakeholders and client representatives across the University to inform and advise about key structural, physical, and virtual environmental changes.
• Manage and monitor BMIS systems to ensure safety, security and compliance with regulations for the University technology infrastructure.
• Engage with internal and external networks, exchanging knowledge and information to provide input into the planning and development of future projects and services.
• Perform maintenance procedures and tasks and take action to respond to vulnerability issues and security incidents.
• Create, review, maintain and investigate operational systems, mechanisms and user documentation to ensure all organisational stakeholder requirements have been met.
• Maintain asset registers ensuring that the administration of the acquisition, storage, distribution, movement and disposal of assets is documented.
• Demonstrate ability to use a range of tools, equipment, and virtual or digital services.
• Take responsibility for carrying out more specialist risk assessments and incident resolution.
• Any other reasonable duties.

Specific role requirements

• Working hours will require all members of the team to provide working hours flexibility to cover 8am to 6pm plus occasional support for events outside of these hours and at weekends. As such 9am to 5pm is indicative. 
• Working outside normal office hours, including responding to significant incidents.
• Optional participation in an on-call rota to provide out of hours support.

Recruiting to this post 

In order to be considered for interview, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above.

In some cases, the recruiting panel may also consider the desirable criteria, so we recommend you evidence all criteria in your application.  

Please note that some criteria will only be considered at interview stage.

How to apply 

We prefer to receive applications online.

Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement https://www.dur.ac.uk/ig/dp/privacy/pnjobapplicants/ which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.

What you are required to submit

1. A CV; 
2. A covering letter which details your experience, strengths and potential in the requirements set out above;
3. Examples of how you satisfy the essential criteria in the person specification, this will require completion of the 'Questionnaire' application section.

Please ensure that you submit all documentation listed above or your application cannot proceed to the next stage.

Contact details 

For further information please contact - catherine.wilson@durham.ac.uk.

At Durham University, our aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work.  We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

We will notify you on the status of your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system.  Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails.

Person specification - skills, knowledge, qualifications and experience required

This post will require occasional out of hours working periods, including weekends

Essential Criteria

1. Good oral and written communication skills
2. Proven IT skills, including use of Microsoft Office.
3. Experience of undertaking a support role within an IT environment
4. Knowledge of Oracle or Sql Server relational databases and database programming using PL/SQL or TSQL.
5. Provision of relevant documentation and training for Oracle, Unix and BI environments.
6. Knowledge of software development using REST and SOAP APIs in an Oracle environment.
7. High levels of self-motivation, initiative and ability to promote and demonstrate a flexible 'can do' attitude.
8. Five GCSE’s at least Grade C or level four (or equivalent) including English Language and Mathematics (or equivalent experience).
9. Post-16 qualification or equivalent experience.
10. Knowledge of and commitment to software development best practice including issue tracking, testing, documentation and version control.
11. Knowledge of BI developer and reporting tools
12. Relevant industry and professional recognition and certification of achievement of skills and knowledge.
13. Evidence of continuing professional development. 
14. Demonstrable ability to proactively work with team members to ensure the delivery of high quality services. 
15. Ability to identify and solve problems and issues, plan solutions and make pragmatic decisions.
16. Experience of contributing to the delivery of IT services.
17. Experience of providing advice and guidance to a range of customers and colleagues.

Desirable Criteria

1. ITIL Foundation
2. Knowledge of Unix/Linux OS including shell scripting.
3. Knowledge of HR, Payroll and Finance applications and processes
4. Knowledge of Application Express development environment
5. Knowledge of integration to Identity Management solutions and Active Directory
6. Regulatory, local and national professional knowledge and experience of compliance.
7. Health and safety compliance knowledge.
8. Ability to effectively network and exchange advice and information for development purposes. 

Realising Your Potential Approach

The Realising Your Potential Approach clarifies the behaviours expected to be demonstrated by all staff across Professional Services in the University regardless of their role. Along with the core responsibilities, role responsibilities and the person specification, the Realising Your Potential Approach behavioural indicators are used to inform the recruitment and selection process. Further information on the Realising Your Potential Approach is available here.

DBS Requirement: Not Applicable.